


Triangles, Acting, and Everything In-between

by ChetRoi



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:28:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25181758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChetRoi/pseuds/ChetRoi
Summary: Triangles, acting, friends. These 3 things were what represented Misumi at his core, but it didn't always start out this way.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 45





	Triangles, Acting, and Everything In-between

**Author's Note:**

> Hi... so uh... Misumi somehow became my second fave chara and I was like I MUST WRITE A CHARA STUDY FOR HIM... then I got distracted and now I've finally finished it..I love u Misu..This is also my first gen fic so woooooo, anyways this only goes up to act 2 cause I feel like... I wanted to focus more on his childhood

“Sorry brother, but dad said that I can’t be around you anymore. He said that if I stayed around you for too long, I’d become as weird as you, and he doesn’t want that.” That was the first time that Misumi, who was just a little kid at the time, felt his first bout of loneliness. It hit him hard, crashing over him in a way that made his chest tight, restricting all the air from entering him. 

“I see…” Misumi forced himself to keep back the tears. He had to stay strong for his brother. He couldn’t let Madoka see him like this. After all, this could very well be the last time Misumi sees him. So, he forced himself to smile. “Well, if that’s what dad wants, then okay! He just wants the best for the family.” Misumi turned around to leave, before Madoka could see the tears forming. 

“Hey brother, before you leave… don’t be afraid to send me paper airplanes. I’ll know.” Madoka hesitantly said, his arm slightly outstretched before he slowly took it back. Misumi froze and took a deep breath in. 

“I will. Don’t forget me, okay?” With that, Misumi walked away. Away from Madoka, away from his immediate family, away from his old life. 

Misumi didn’t know where to go, who to turn to. However, a certain kind face popped up into his head and Misumi supposed that he was the best option. He went to Mankai theatre, basking in its shadow. He felt calmer just being around it. He took a deep breath, pushing the heavy door. “Hi, Is Hakkaku Ikaruga here?” 

A man with scruffy brown hair and glasses looked up in surprise. “Huh? Hakkaku-san? Yeah, I’ll call him for you. May I ask what you need him for?” 

“I’m his grandson, Misumi Ikaruga. I need to talk to him.” 

The man, who Misumi now knows as Matsukawa, gestured for him to come in. Misumi hesitantly walked in, one step in front of another. A man with hair that’s similar to Misumi was sitting in one of the theatre seats, reading what looked like was some type of book. The scruffy man tapped the silver haired man’s shoulder, causing him to look up. “Misumi? Is that you?” Misumi nodded, the tears finally spilling out. He ran into his grandpa’s arms, sobbing as Hakkaku patted him on the back gently. That day, Misumi was introduced to the cruelness of the world, yet he was also shown a light. 

With his grandpa, Misumi didn’t feel as lonely. After all, his grandpa was only kind and supportive to him. However, Misumi couldn’t help but feel a bit lonely. After all, he didn’t interact with anyone else his age. He missed his brother, he missed the neighborhood kids, he missed other people in general. He wonders if Madoka is enjoying himself. He wonders if Madoka even misses him at all. Misumi sighed. He can’t really do anything about the situation, so he resigned himself to his fate. Maybe, he did something to deserve this.

Whether Misumi deserved it or not, he was determined to live his new life the best that he could. Of course, his grandpa was there to help him.

“Hey Misumi, why don’t you go out and talk to people? The kids on Veludo Street are nice and they’re into acting too. Maybe you can make friends with them.” Misumi’s grandpa suggested one day as Misumi looked up with wide eyes, his gaze finally torn away from one of his grandpa’s scripts. He always imagined himself as one of the characters in the plays, he always wanted to be as brave or as revered or as loved as the characters. It distracted him from his loneliness, his emptiness. 

“Eh, it’s okay Grandpa! I’m happy here with you!” Misumi smiled brightly, already perfecting it in the mirror by himself, but his chest was too tight, too empty. It’s not like he couldn’t make friends. It’s not like he didn’t  _ want _ to, he didn’t want to get abandoned again. After all, if even his own dad didn’t want him, who would?

Well, if Misumi couldn’t make human friends, he could try making other friends, so he set out on his journey to try and fill the sadness in his heart. He saw a ginger cat licking its paw on a street near the theatre and he carefully approached it. “Hey kitty… I’m not here to hurt you.” Misumi said, reaching out to pet it. The cat side eyed him before it gracefully leapt up the roof and disappeared from his sight. Huh, so cats don’t even want to befriend him huh? Misumi narrowed his eyes, estimating the distance between the roof and him. He will have a friend, no matter how hard he has to work.

The next day, Misumi ventured out to the courtyard of Mankai, asking one of the members to get him a ladder. He pushed the ladder to a secluded place and climbed it. The moment he got to the top, he tentatively took a step onto the roof. The sun shone brightly, making all the colors in the world just a little bit brighter. The sounds of birds chirping and people chattering filled the air, calming Misumi’s way too quick heart. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, a slight breeze tousling his hair. He reopened his eyes and looked ahead. The next roof was a fairly sizable gap away and Misumi could feel his heart beating louder and louder. He gulped. Well, he can’t give up now, so he ran and he jumped. Time seemed to freeze as he flew across the gap, wind in his hair, as he felt free for once. The adrenaline pulsing through his veins made him feel liberated as time eventually caught up and he landed safely on the other roof. He let out a giant grin. He could get used to that feeling.

Of course, Misumi knew that just jumping from place to place wasn’t enough, he needed to actually get up on the roof. So, he did what any normal person would do: try rock climbing but instead of a rock climbing wall, it was a normal wall. Plus, he had no protective gear, so that was even better. The more dangerous it was, the more freeing it was, so win-win for him. He looked up at the wall, analyzing all the cracks, all the wall fixtures, all the tiny dents. He could make do with this. He scanned the wall up and down, estimating the length and visualizing the ways that he could scale it. He nodded to himself and began his journey, using the terrain of the wall to his advantage. It just felt so natural, so easy, that he wondered why people don’t normally do this. He made his way up quickly, and he sat down, his feet dangling off of the roof. He wondered if he could spice up his training routine. Maybe, he could do flips or something to really up the danger. Eh, maybe next time, it’s not like he had anyone else to hang out with that wasn’t busy with scripts or acting. 

Misumi supposed that he was just born athletically inclined as he went through his usual training of climbing up some random building and jumping from rooftop to rooftop, much to the chagrin of everyone else. However, he soon became such a constant sight that people just got used to him. Once again, he faded back into the shadows, back into the dark abyss of loneliness. He wasn’t surprised but he couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment. He really was that replaceable huh? He shrugged and continued to jump from roof to roof, but the lonely feeling never really left him.

After a few weeks, Misumi felt like he could keep up with any cats, so he once again went out to search for a cat. He found the same ginger cat as the week before sitting on the exact same street. Misumi silently notes in his head that the cat was a regular here, which meant that it was easier to befriend since it was easier to find. He once again approached the cat, who once again side-eyed. However, as the cat turned to leave, Misumi quickly followed him. He jumped the fence smoothly, landing as softly as the cat did. The cat turned back with wide eyes as Misumi waved at it. “Hi! Remember me? I want to be your friend!” The cat meowed, narrowing its eyes, but Misumi extended his hand towards it. “I don’t know what you’re saying, but I’m friendly, I swear.” Misumi paused before softly adding “I just want a friend. Can you please be my friend?” 

The cat meowed once again, its meow a lot less harsh than before. “Hey! You sound less angry! Yay!” Misumi did a backflip, as the cat took a step back. Misumi saw and quickly stopped. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” The cat still looked at him warily, as Misumi felt his heart break. “I just really want to be friends… please be my friend…I’m nice, I swear.” Misumi crouched down, once again extending his hand. The cat looked from Misumi to his hand before slowly approaching Misumi’s hand, rubbing his head against it. Misumi couldn’t help the tears that spilled out as his other hand hesitantly reached out to pet the cat. Its fur was so soft. “My first friend…” Misumi said, withdrawing his hand to wipe away his tears before quickly going back to petting. 

The cat purred, as if it seemingly agreed with the statement. “I’m glad you’re my friend. All my friends need names though…” Misumi looked around before turning back to the cat. “I think I’ll call you… Caspar.” Caspar meowed, rubbing his head against the strokes of Misumi’s hand. Misumi smiled. “Thank you Caspar for being my first friend.” 

Misumi came home that day with a bright smile as his grandpa chuckled. “You seem awfully happy today, what happened?”

Misumi grinned. “I made my first friend~” He ran around, doing a bunch of tricks. “I can’t believe Gramps, my first friend!” Hakkaku clapped. 

“Oh, who is it? Do I know them?” 

Misumi beamed. “It’s that one cat who likes to hang on Veludo Street!” 

His grandpa hummed thoughtfully. “The fluffy ginger one?” Misumi nodded. “Ah, nice. I heard that he’s rather unfriendly, so good job on making him like you.” 

“Thanks! I want to make more friends like him! He’s not judgmental and he seems happy to see me! That’s all I need! Caspar and I are going to be best friends forever!” 

Hakkaku hesitated. “Misumi… I’m happy for you, I really am, but you should go out there and make more friends. Caspar isn’t enough.” 

Misumi stopped smiling for a split second before the smile came back. “Good idea gramps! I’ll make friends with all the cats around us! I’ll be a cat whisperer!” 

“That’s not what I meant…” Misumi turned to look at Hakkaku. 

“Eh? Then… I guess you mean that I should make more diverse friends.” Hakkaku nodded in relief. 

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I meant.” Misumi beamed.

“You’re right Gramps! I shouldn’t just limit myself to only cats! I should make friends with all sorts of animals! They might be lonely!” Hakkaku opened his mouth, only to find Misumi’s happy face staring back at him. 

“Yeah. That’s what I meant. Have fun out there and stay safe.” Hakkaku watched as Misumi happily skipped away. He knew that he should stop coddling Misumi and tell him the truth, but Hakkaku couldn’t find the heart to do it. After all, Misumi was still a kid, and he should keep his innocence for at least a little while longer. 

Misumi did indeed make friends with all the neighborhood animals, yet the most jarring part to him was that he sort of understood what they were saying. He wasn’t some type of magical person with powers or anything, it was just… intuition. He just somehow  _ knew _ what they were saying. Maybe, it just came with the fact that they were the only people, or well creatures, that Misumi spent time with. He guesses that it would be normal for him to pick up on their general behavior and “words”. Misumi laughed bitterly to himself. He really was weird huh, no wonder why his dad didn’t want him around the family.

One day, Misumi’s grandpa was looking at him strangely. 

“What’s wrong Gramps?” Misumi was worried that he did something wrong. He had been trying to stay out of trouble, after all he didn’t want to burden his grandpa even more. However, maybe something that he accidentally did caused someone’s trouble. Luckily, it wasn’t that.

“Misumi, have you ever considered trying acting? Hakkaku’s tone was casual, but Misumi knew that it was a serious question.

“No, not really.”

Hakkaku’s face fell but it returned back to his kind smile.

“Well, why don’t you try it one day and show me? I want to see a show that only you and your friends can put on.”

Misumi didn’t know what friends his grandpa was speaking of, but he nodded.

“Alright, will do!”

A few days after that, Misumi had the bright idea to take some of his grandfather’s scripts and practice with the animals. Did they actually act? No. Did they really help him with characterization or anything? Surprisingly yes, apparently animals have very strong opinions on anything. He knew because he had tea with them once, and the rumors he heard… were wild. On that day, Misumi grinned as he waved around the papers. “Hey Madara! Hey Usagi! Hey Shitake! Thanks for coming! I’ve got us some Pirates today!” A siamese cat looked up and meowed, licking his paw. Misumi feigned a gasp. “Madara! I know that you don’t like action plays, but you don’t need to be that rude.” The tabby next to Madara went up and brushed her face against Misumi’s leg. “Yeah, I haven’t seen you in forever Usagi. I missed you too.” Shitake was just sleeping, and Misumi didn’t have the heart to wake him, so he continued on. “Okay! I’ll be playing all the roles here, and you guys have to tell me your honest opinions, okay?” Usagi and Madara meowed as they settled down a few feet from Misumi. Misumi felt empty as he looked at his audience, which wasn’t fair since animals have feelings and kept him company too, but they just weren’t humans. Whatever, Misumi shook his head. It’s time for acting, and when it’s acting time, he has to become that character. “Arrr! I’m the pirate Sky!” 

Misumi wasn’t quite sure why he liked acting as much as he did. He knew that a large part of it was that he loved his grandpa, who loved acting, but he was sure that this wasn’t the only reason why. After all, if he was just doing it for his grandpa, then that would’ve meant that he would like writing scripts, and Misumi most certainly didn’t like that. Maybe… it was because it brought him closer with his animal friends, who actually really helped him improve. Misumi pursed his lips and shook his head. Nah, that couldn’t be it. He did other things with them too, and they all seem to enjoy it way more than watching him act. Maybe… it helped him spend more time with his grandpa? Misumi knew that this was another reason, but there’s just something missing. Misumi stared out into the distance, observing people go about their day. Although he hasn’t interacted with many people, Misumi would consider himself good at handling human affairs. After all, he’s seen so many scenes on these rooftops. 

As Misumi was dangling his feet off of the ledge, he hummed to himself. There was a soft breeze in the air, blowing at his hair gently. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the background noise of the animated street. He heard street acts and arguments and cars blending together to form what was probably the closest thing that he could get to actually participating on the street. Suddenly his eyes fully opened. He finally understood why he liked acting so much. He looked at his hands and chuckled sadly to himself. 

Misumi liked plays and acting so much because they were his form of escapism. Anytime he sunk deep into a character, he became them. For that short moment in time, he could forget about all his worries and troubles, and instead focus on whatever the character’s problems were. There was no need for loneliness, for self-hatred. Well, it was fitting. If there was any place where acting as escapism was welcome, it was Veludo Street. Misumi looked down at the people below who were going about their day. Maybe one day, he could join them down there. 

While Misumi couldn’t exactly join the people on the street with their street acts, he could join his grandpa in acting practice. Mankai was slowly falling apart, with so many people leaving, so practice partners were hard to come by. Misumi didn’t want to see his grandpa sad, so he volunteered to practice, much to his grandpa’s joy. Misumi genuinely smiled seeing how happy his grandpa got. Misumi loved it when he made others happy, it gave him a purpose in his otherwise purposeless life. No one deserved to be sad, so if Misumi could help it, he’ll do his best to make everyone smile. 

“Okay, you start first as Sky and I’ll be Henry.” Hakkaku said after they finished their warm ups. Misumi was currently sitting with his legs crossed as he jumped up. 

“Yay! I get to be the lead!” Misumi cheered as he cleared his throat. Suddenly, he was Sky, and the world, or his sea he supposed, was his oyster. As the session went on, his grandpa looked more and more surprised. When it finally ended, his grandpa took a long drink of water. “Say Misumi, when’d you get that good at acting?” 

Misumi shrugged. “According to Katashi, who’s the hardest cat to please in my opinion, I was barely considered decent last week. So, maybe last week?” Hakkaku handed Misumi a water bottle, which Misumi took gratefully. 

“Last week huh?” Hakkaku sat down on the floor, patting the space next to him. Misumi joined him as Hakkaku shot him a smile. “I’m sure Katashi’s just picky. You’re a great actor and I’m sure any theatre troupe would be lucky enough to have you.” Misumi hummed contentedly. 

“Thanks gramps.” The two sat in silence, a peaceful air settling around them.  _ “Huh. Guess I’m a lot better than I thought.” _ Misumi mused, his left foot tapping against the floor. Misumi never really noticed, but he guessed that it makes sense for him to improve. He did practice everyday with a different assortment of animal judges. It may sound silly, but while they’re not actors themselves, they’ve been on Veludo Street long enough to know about what they would consider good and what they would consider bad. 

“Hey Misumi, want to practice with me? I could help teach you certain tips for getting better. I may not have been the best actor in Mankai, but this old dog knows quite a few tricks.” Misumi swiveled his head to look at his grandpa. He always felt so at ease with him and he was pretty much the only person that Misumi had daily interactions with. Plus, there was the fact that he could finally have human input on his acting. So...

“Yeah, of course Gramps!” 

“Good, you’re going to be so amazing Misumi, not that you aren’t already.” For the first time in a long time, Misumi’s heart was full.

“...Full of completely fake jewelry!” Currently, Misumi was playing a tough corrupt cop while his grandpa was a supposedly clueless robber. 

“Eh? Completely fake jewelry? What d’ya mean?”

Misumi growled.

“Don’t play dumb with me, you’re trying to trick me aren’t ya?” 

“Eh? Why would I do that?”

“You want to keep all the money for ya self. Ain’t it obvious?” 

Hakkaku narrowed his eyes, completely dropping his act.

“I have no idea what you mean.”    
  
Misumi took a step back, grimacing as if he’s slightly scared. 

“...And scene.” Hakkaku clapped once, grabbing his water bottle after doing so. Misumi’s face turned back into a bright smile. 

“Wow grandpa! You were so good!” Misumi bounced around while his grandma looked at him softly.

“Thanks, you were good too. You’re really expanding your skill set.”

“Yeah! Action, horror, comedy, romance, mystery... Soon, I’ll be able to act them all!”

“I think you can act in all of them now. We’ve done a practice of every genre, and you were amazing in all of them.”

Hakkaku chuckled and patted Misumi on the head. “You’re going to be a great actor in the future.”

Misumi beamed.

“I know.”

Now, while Misumi may know how to act, he still didn’t know how to make friends. He supposed that he could act a certain way and make friends that way, but he didn’t want to. He wanted people to like him for who he is, not who he pretended to be. However, no one approached him. 

_ “This is fine. I have my animal friends. I’m going to be okay.”  _ Misumi often thought, but it felt bitter on his tongue at times. 

Hakkaku was Misumi’s best friend, granted he was Misumi’s only human friend, but that’s just semantics. Like any best friend, Hakkaku noticed that Misumi had been down lately, so he resolved to change that. 

That evening, after their daily practices, Hakkaku waved at Misumi. The sun was setting, its dying rays streaming in through the window. The bright lights gave the room a warm and inviting atmosphere.

“Hey Misumi, come here. I have something for you.” Misumi looked up from his water bottle in surprise.

“Eh? Okay.” Misumi skipped over to his grandpa. 

“Close your eyes and hold out your hands.” 

Misumi did as he was told, wondering what his grandpa was planning. A few seconds later, he felt something smooth and cold in the palm of his hands. 

“Okay, you can open your eyes now.” 

Misumi slowly opened his eyes and looked down. He furrowed his eyebrows. 

Observant as usual, Hakkaku remarked “It’s a protractor.” 

“What does it do?”

“Well, it’s usually used to draw angles but you can do whatever you want with it. You can spin it around. Do whatever you want with it.”

“But why…?” 

“Well, it’s a gift from me to you. It was very precious to me, I’ve had it since I was a young boy. It helped me get through many scripts and it’s the only thing I really kept from my childhood.”

“If it’s so precious to you, then why would you give it to me?” Misumi tried to hand Hakkaku the protractor back, but Hakkuku shook his head, gently pushing Misumi’s hand back.

“It helped me through some bad times in my life and I hope that it’ll help you through yours.”

Misumi felt himself tearing up. This wasn’t the first gift that he had ever gotten, but it was the first gift that he had gotten since his dad abandoned him. He gingerly closed his hand around the protractor. 

“Thank you Gramps. I’m going to treasure this for the rest of my life.”

Misumi pulled his grandpa into a hug, burying his face in his grandpa’s warm chest. 

“Say Misumi, do you like triangles?” Hakkaku asked after Misumi pulled away from their hug.

“Yeah! My name has the word triangle in it!”

“Well, I don’t know if this is too hard for you, but did you know that triangles are very important?”

Misumi looked up at his grandpa in wonder. 

“They are?”

“Yeah, not only are they the strongest shapes, but they’re also really important in some ancient stories.”

“Why are they important?”

Hakkaku hummed thoughtfully. 

“Let’s see… how do I explain this…” Hakkaku glanced around the room before he slowly turned back to Misumi.

“You see Misumi, back then, a triangle represents a whole person. Each person gets 3 of the most important things to represent them.”

Miusmi frowned. “Only 3? That’s so little.”

Hakkaku nodded. “Only 3. Anything more than that is considered too greedy.”

“I see…” 

“Well, those 3 things form a triangle and it remains an important part of yourself. Only after finding those three things will you be happy.” Hakkaku tapped Misumi’s chest. “I hope you find those three things. Tell me if you do, I want to see you be happy.”

Misumi looked down at the spot where Hakkaku tapped him before looking back up. 

“Okay, will do Gramps!”

Despite the cheerful tone of his voice, Misumi wasn’t sure whether he’ll ever be truly happy. Oh well, if that ever did happen, he would be sure to thank the person that helped him through the not so happy times.

Sadly, Misumi never got to tell his grandpa those 3 items (mostly because he didn’t know what they were) before the untimely passing of Hakkaku. That day was a blur for Misumi. Strange and familiar people crowded in that terrible place to pay respects. Misumi couldn’t bear to see his beloved grandpa like that, so he sneaked away when he thought no one was looking. It wasn’t like anyone would care anyways, they either didn’t know him or they probably found him a nuisance. 

Misumi rubbed the tears out of his eyes, sneaking out to his favorite place, Mankai’s roof. The day was supposed to be nice with its bright sun and its fluffy white clouds, but Misumi couldn’t see the colors around him. Everything looked dull and gray. Bringing his knees up to his face, he released all of the sadness in him. Misumi didn’t like crying, it made his grandpa sad, but now that didn’t even matter anymore. His grandpa was dead. His sweet, kind, caring grandpa was dead. The only person that really cared about him in this world was dead. Tears fell down, one after the other in a cascade of emotions. He tried so hard to be positive and for what?    
  


Misumi reached into his pocket to get out the triangular protractor, the only thing left from his grandpa since those strange people took all of Hakkaku’s old scripts. Holding it, he only felt an even bigger wave of sadness hit him. This was the only thing left from his grandpa. However, as he started to cry harder, an older silver cat with orange eyes that he had never seen before came onto the roof. It sat down next to Misumi silently, staring at him with strangely human eyes. 

Misumi felt oddly at peace with the cat there. It exuded a calming aura and Misumi could swear that he knew the cat from somewhere despite him never seeing it before. Somehow, the cat helped lessen Misumi’s sadness. He felt like it was protecting him. It felt like it was telling him that everything was going to be okay. It felt loving. 

As Misumi reached out to pet the cat, he felt something touch his shoulder gently. Quickly whipping his head behind him, Misumi braced himself for some kind of leaf or another cat. However, there was nothing there. He turned back to the elderly cat, but it was no longer there. Misumi widened his eyes before a small sad smile broke out on his face.

Misumi once again looked at the triangular protractor in his hands before glancing up at the sky. It was still dull, but there was a hint of blue now. Softly chuckling, he said “Alright Gramps, I get it. I won’t give up here.” He glanced back down at the protractor. “I’ll make you proud of me.”

Standing up, Misumi brushed the tears out of his eyes. Taking a deep breath in, he looked around for anyone that might yell at him. When he saw the empty halls of Mankai, he closed his eyes and ran. As if a spirit possessed him, Misumi jumped from roof to roof. He couldn’t stop that day. He felt like if he stopped, all the negativity and emptiness would eat him alive. He couldn’t have that. So, he ran. And ran. And ran. With the wind in his hair, Misumi temporarily forgot about the beginning of his almost debilitating emptiness.

Emptiness. Ever since Hakkaku died, all Misumi felt was emptiness. It wasn’t the usual darkness engulfing you type of emptiness that was often portrayed in books. It was just… constantly there. No matter what you did, it was in the back of your head. It nibbled at you, but it never devoured you. Misumi tried to escape it, but the effort was futile as it constantly hung over him no matter what he did. 

However, one thing did make the emptiness cede for a while and it was the protractor. Every time Misumi was lonely, he looked at the protractor and the effects of it were almost instantaneous. He heard Hakkaku's soothing voice, saw his kind face, and felt his warm embrace. It only lasted for a short period of time, but that was enough to fuel Misumi on for a few more hours. 

Eventually, Misumi wondered why the protractor was so strong. Sure, it came from his grandpa, but he knew that something else must’ve factored into it. Suddenly, his grandpa’s voice came back into his head.  _ “Triangles are the strongest shapes. Remember to be as strong as a triangle and you can do anything that you want Misumi.”  _

Suddenly, it hit Misumi. If he kept on collecting triangles, maybe he could be stronger. Maybe, he could be less lonely. Maybe, he could be happy. 

After that realization, Misumi’s days were filled with triangle hunting. Whether it was a leaf, a piece of paper, or even something like a bent straw, Misumi took it and added it to his collection. He didn’t feel any stronger or any happier or any less empty, but maybe it was because he didn’t have enough triangles. So, more triangle hunting it was. Misumi pushed the way too common thought of how he never would be any happier or stronger or less empty out of his head. He couldn’t dwell on that. Otherwise the nagging darkness would turn into the engulfing darkness that he saw take so many people, and… Well, Misumi wasn’t going to let that happen. 

Of course, Misumi just didn’t spend all of his time looking for triangles. He still practiced acting for a good 2 hours, spent an hour mindlessly parkouring, and then spent another hour talking with his animal friends each day. It wasn’t much, but it kept him busy. 

Now, Misumi still did go to school, but he never really paid much attention there. He didn’t fail or anything, but his grades weren’t the best. He barely managed to pass each class and he got easily distracted now that his grandpa wasn’t there to tell him to focus. Still, though a pass was a pass. Besides, Misumi didn’t really like school anyways. It was boring and everyone else looked at him weirdly for not having parents. He was so glad when he finally graduated from high school. Finally, he no longer had to go to school. Still though, a part of him missed school. There, he met familiar people almost every day. Sure, they didn’t talk to him, but their presence was enough. Now, he just ran from one place to another. He had nothing constant in his life. Suddenly, Misumi wished that he made more of an effort in school, both in his studies and social life. 

The few years in between his graduation and Izumi finding him was a bit blurry. He did the same things everyday and they all just blended together. Triangles, acting, and everything in between. Misumi still hasn't found his three things yet but he still had hope. After all, without hope, what did he have?

Honestly, Misumi was glad that he still had hope, because it all led him to that day. 

That day, Misumi was doing his usual routine, but when he came back from triangle hunting, he saw that some people were outside his room. He had seen them around Mankai of course, but he never really paid them any attention. There’s always people coming and going from Mankai, so he stopped paying attention to them. However, he felt his heart beating rapidly in his chest. For some reason, this felt different. 

Misumi cautiously dropped in from his window, looking around his room. “Triangle…” He muttered, before his stomach growled. Oh yeah. He got himself some Onigiri after a few people gave him money for his performances with the cats. He opened up the packaging and was about to eat it before the doors opened. 

“Onigiris are a wonder.” Misumi said right as the doors opened to reveal a pretty brunette, an orange haired teen, a green haired teen, a blonde guy with a nice smile, a pink haired kid, and an emo teenager with two toned hair. 

There was a lot of screaming and talking coming from the group. Misumi heard something about an onigiri ghost from the pink haired kid and a loud scream from the orange haired teen. He didn’t know what they were talking about. Was there some sort of ghost in his room that he didn’t know about? However, Misumi shook his head internally. Where were his manners? These people actually took time out of their day to visit him.

Misumi smiled, thrusting out his onigiri. “Would you guys like some triangles too?”

Another loud scream was elicited from the orange haired teen, who decided to cling to the green haired teen. The green haired teen scowled and shove him away. Misumi assumed that they didn’t want any triangles.

The blonde guy with the nice smile stepped forward and stuck out his hand. “What’s your name ghostbro?” 

Ah. So, they thought Misumi was a ghost. Well, he couldn’t blame them. His pale hair and pale skin was pretty ghost-like… Well, time to clear his name. “I’m Ikaruga Misumi!”

After that, the pretty brunette realized that Misumi wasn’t a ghost and talked to the others to calm them down. Well, Misumi never thought that he would be in this position, yet here he was. He stood there awkwardly as the others argued and talked before the brunette turned to him with a smile. 

“Hey, do you want to join Mankai Company as an actor?” were the words that came out of her mouth. 

Misumi froze. Join Mankai Company? As an actor? Like his grandpa? More whispers and words came from the group, but Misumi didn’t hear them. Everything was happening too fast. Still though, Misumi had a feeling. It was light and bubbly and it felt good. Was this… No, he shouldn’t jinx it. 

“Sure, I would love to.”

Not long after that, Misumi discovered the names of everyone else in the group. Izumi was the pretty brunette lady who was the new director of Mankai, Tenma was the orange haired teen that likes to scream, Yuki was the green haired teen that was tired of Tenma, Kazunari was the nice blonde guy with the pretty smile, Muku was the pink haired child who was actually 14, and Masumi was the emo guy with two toned hair. Well, Misumi felt a glimmer of hope in his chest. Were they his new friends? Quickly, he shoved that thought away. He shouldn’t get ahead of himself. 

Apparently, most of the group from before was going to be joining him in the troupe he was in, Summer Troupe, with Masumi being the only exception as a current actor from the Spring Troupe. Misumi could feel his excitement rising. Finally, all of his practicing would come to fruition! Still though, a nagging feeling was pulling him back. He has never really acted with anyone that was his grandfather or animals. What if they don’t like him? What if he didn’t mesh well with them? He should’ve talked to more people…

However, Misumi’s thoughts were interrupted by the director calling him up and asking him to say a word with different emotions. Internally, Misumi was puzzled. Why were they doing something this easy? He supposed that the others could’ve been beginners, so he shouldn’t judge them too harshly. Still though, if that was something that he had to do to prove himself, then he would do it. Closing his eyes, he turned on the actor side of him. He became the emotions and when he came back to his normal self, everyone was silent. Oh no, was he bad? Were the cats wrong? 

However, Misumi was soon greeted with a bunch of compliments. Misumi felt… warm for the first in a long time. He almost forgot how it felt to be complimented by people you know. It was nice. 

As time passed on, Misumi got closer and closer to Summer Troupe. The practices were always fun with Tenma and Yuki bickering all the time and Kazunari just standing there filming it. Plus, they actually interacted with him instead of ignoring him like everyone else. Muku invited him to read manga. Kazunari is always dragging him to some kind of cafe. Yuki sends him pictures of any pieces of clothing that he sees, whether online or in real life, that has a triangle. Tenma buys him onigiri with his movie star money. Misumi wasn’t too sure but he thinks that Summer Troupe might be his friends. 

Misumi also met the rest of Spring Troupe and he thinks that he might be their friend too. Itaru lets him play triangle games. Citron was his onigiri better. Masumi recommended him some music. Sakuya often asked him for tips on how to gain more stamina and how to be more athletic. Tsuzuru often spoke to him about his scripts, which made Misumi awfully nostalgic. Misumi wasn’t sure if this was a dream, but if it was… he didn’t want it to end. 

Misumi found that he was feeling a lot less lonely now that he had Spring AND Summer troupe to keep him company. Still though, his mind sometimes wandered back to his grandpa. Was his grandpa proud of him? Misumi would like to believe that he was.

The moment that solidified Misumi’s friendship with Summer Troupe was their sleepover. As a kid, he often heard other kids talking about sleepovers, but he never thought that he would actually get a chance to experience one. Still, it was better late than never. 

It was so much more fun that Misumi could’ve ever imagined. Misumi pushed the tears out of his eyes. He couldn’t cry here. To quote Kazu, that would be “Not lit.” However, just sitting here and talking about life and girls… It made Misumi happy. 

Happy huh? Misumi never thought that he would be this happy, yet here he was. A big smile spread on his face. He made it. 

Misumi knew that he truly made it the first time he stood on stage in front of an audience. People were finally paying attention to him. People were finally applauding him. People were finally seeing him for the actor that only Hakkaku saw him as. 

The moment the first show ended, Misumi looked up and thought  _ “I made it Grandpa. I’ve finally given a performance that only I could give with my friends.”  _

One of the lights flickered in response. 

After the first play, Misumi got to meet even more friends. Autumn troupe. Winter troupe. More and more people were entering his life and they actually wanted to stay. Whether he was napping with Hisoka or making onigiri with Omi, his life was even more busy than it was before. Slowly, Misumi lost the looming sense of emptiness and sadness that used to constantly follow him around. He had a new family now, one that truly cares for him.

Misumi still loved triangles and he still loved the protractor, but he no longer really needed them to be happy. Sure, he still collected them and he had the other members collect it with him. However, now it was more because it comforted him to have something remaining from his old life than it was to make him feel less empty. Plus, it also gave him more chances to hang out with his friends, so win-win. 

Another win-win situation was that now when Misumi parkoured, he no longer felt like he was chased. He could just parkour for the sake of parkouring. The threat from before was gone. He was free. With that realization, Misumi closed his eyes and continued parkouring. The winds in hair never felt any cooler.

**Author's Note:**

> So... follow me on twitter @gachakitakorejk if u want...


End file.
